Random Indiana Jones Was A Terrible Archaeologist (15 items)

• 

  (#13) When He Failed To Do Any Of His Own Research

  It's safe to assume that without the hard research work of Henry Jones, Sr., Indiana Jones would have been killed at some point in The Last Crusade. While Indy often seems to do enough preparation to not die in various booby traps, that doesn't hold true for his adventure for the Holy Grail.

  Indiana goes in entirely unprepared for the various traps that guard the Holy Grail. He is only saved from certain death by his father's research, which tells him what to expect. Before his father informs him of this, he seems perfectly willing to rush headlong into danger for the Grail.

  Even Jones himself admits in this movie that most archaeology is done in the library, which he would do well to remember if he doesn't want to get his head taken off by a booby trap.
• 

  (#3) That Time He Used A Human Corpse As A Torch

  It's clear Indiana Jones believes that shiny objects are the only artifacts that matter, and that belief definitely shows in his treatment of human remains in The Last Crusade.

  While in the catacombs under Venice, Italy, Jones decides he needs a better light source. In a scene sure to break the heart of any bioarchaeologist, he opts to source it from the ancient human remains in the catacombs. So, he rips off some of the body's remaining clothes, dumps the entire body, and detaches an arm bone from it to create his torch.

  Real archaeologists face ethical questions about disturbing human remains and balk at this wanton destruction. Archaeologist Duncan Sayer says, “The destruction of human remains prevents future study; it is the forensic equivalent of book burning, the willful ruin of knowledge.” 
• 

  (#4) When He Completely Failed To Work With The Locals

  As Indiana Jones pursues the golden idol in Raiders of the Lost Ark, he's being followed by the local Hovitos tribe. When he finally acquires the idol, he's captured by the Hovitos, along with French archaeologist Dr. René Belloq. Belloq speaks their language and develops a relationship with them.

  Archaeologists are commonly concerned with creating a considerate and mutually beneficial relationship with the local people whose cultural site they are working on.

  Most archaeologists, at least. Not Indiana Jones, who breaks into their temple, steals their idol, and apparently never bothers to learn some of the local language to try to speak with them. In the end, he loses the idol to Belloq, who doesn't make these same mistakes.
• 

  (#10) When He Never, Ever Recorded His Data

  Indiana Jones is always prepared to take on Nazis or get himself out of a booby-trapped temple, but he rarely seems prepared to record his findings in any way.

  His father, Dr. Henry Jones, Sr., kept a complete record of his entire search for the Holy Grail, a valuable treasure trove of information even when the grail and the site were lost. However, you never see Indiana Jones keeping any records, which would be important given his tendency to destroy every archaeological site he has ever visited.

  Archaeologist William Parkinson says, "[I]f you spend 20 years meticulously excavating an archaeological site and you never publish (your findings), then you've just spent 20 years looting. There's no point! If you're not publishing, you're not any better than a tomb raider."
• 

  (#11) When He Used A Grave Site As Protective Armor

  In The Last Crusade, Indiana Jones searches for clues regarding the location of the Holy Grail in the knight's tomb in the catacombs. He finds valuable information on the knight's shield in his grave. Once he possesses this, Jones is willing to do away with the entire grave site.

  The grail protectors set the petroleum in the catacombs on fire, and Jones has to seek an escape route. The first idea to come into his mind, apparently, is to dump the knight's body, throw the coffin upside down, and use it as an air pocket.

  In the ongoing ethical debate over excavating archaeological human remains, this is a case that both sides would agree is heartbreaking to watch.
• 

  (#5) When He Looted the Ark of the Covenant From A Real, Legal Archaeological Site

  When Indiana Jones goes after the Ark of the Covenant, he steals the item away from a real archaeological site that experts are in the process of excavating.

  "True, the Nazis were trying to find the Ark of the Covenant so they could destroy the world," archaeologist Marcello Canuto says. "But methodologically and legally they were in the right."

  The Nazi archaeologists were certainly up to no good, but presumably they had legally obtained permission to excavate. They were properly excavating the site instead of just dropping in, taking the most valuable thing, and running away like Indiana Jones was definitely trying to do.

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking